Pledge of Allegiance — I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands: One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

]]>Thu, 26 Jan 2017 15:00:00 GMThttp://goldilocksandtheforebears.weebly.com/blog/grandma-lillians-notebook-note-8See the first post in this series.

Robert McNutt died this morning at 5:30 A.M. Jan. 19, 1981. —Violet's husband.

Robert Vivian McNutt was married to Lillian's sister, Violet Ellen Wakefield. Violet had predeceased her husband in 1975. Robert was born 16 September 1897 to Alvin Taylor McNutt and Lucinda Smith. He and Violet had three sons: William Edward, Clair Everett "Rusty", and Glee Lee. Robert was 83 when he died.

]]>Wed, 25 Jan 2017 15:00:00 GMThttp://goldilocksandtheforebears.weebly.com/blog/grandma-lillians-notebook-notes-5-6-7See the first post in this series.

Bob and Diane Lorr, Jason and David

ABC of prayerA - askB - believeC - claim

Richard & Connie Golinsky, Tracy — Harold & Violet Graham's daughter

I'm beginning to wonder if the lists of names that are unfamiliar to me might be people who requested prayer? We may never know…

]]>Tue, 24 Jan 2017 15:00:00 GMThttp://goldilocksandtheforebears.weebly.com/blog/grandma-lillians-notebook-note-4See the first post in this series.

Acts 9:36 — Name Dorcas found.

Dorcas is the name of Lillian's only granddaughter. She is the daughter of Lillian's oldest son, Edward, my granduncle.

Acts 9:36 (NIV) — "In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor."

]]>Mon, 23 Jan 2017 15:00:00 GMThttp://goldilocksandtheforebears.weebly.com/blog/grandma-lillians-notebook-notes-2-3See the first post in this series.

Herb and Ann Mack — Patric, Connie, Jeffry, Viccey, Nancy.

The Mack surname suggests that Herb may be a distant cousin of Lillian's, however, the only Herb (or Herbert) I can find on my family tree does not fit within this family structure. Lillian's mother, Nannie, was born Nannie Emma Mack. It is possible that this family is of no relation at all.

John and Sara Higgins, John, Deniece, Joseph, Clarice, James

If I had to guess, I would say that this is a family who attended Lillian's church. As a pastor's wife, the names of parishioners (and even visitors) would be important to her. I have not found any relations with the surname of Higgins.

​Note: I have chosen to leave Lillian's spellings intact.

]]>Sun, 22 Jan 2017 20:24:08 GMThttp://goldilocksandtheforebears.weebly.com/blog/in-her-own-words-grandma-lillians-notebook-note-1I've had this old blue binder of my great-grandmother's notes collecting dust in my bedroom for quite awhile now. I've been meaning to preserve it digitally for quite some time. I've decided that time is now.

Written later in life, most of it is comprised of bits of information she didn't want to forget. You do come across the occasional diary-like entry, but they are the exception. There is nothing profound or even compelling about the writings, but they are a piece of her and she deemed them important enough to jot down. That makes them important enough for me.

I don't personally know how effective this tip is, but I did find the same formula on a gardening blog. Lillian did marry a farm hand (who later became a preacher) so it's natural that this would be her first entry.

]]>Sun, 11 Sep 2016 04:00:00 GMThttp://goldilocksandtheforebears.weebly.com/blog/911-15-years-laterI can remember a few events prior to 2001 that caused me to become a news junkie for a few days or hours. The first was watching the LAPD chase a white Bronco. It was 1994 and I was 7 years old. It's a very brief, but notable memory. The week that both Princess Diana and Mother Teresa died was another. I remember watching Princess Di's funeral and feeling like I had lost my princess. These events affected me, but September 11, 2001 was on another level. I was older, it happened on my soil, in my state, and presented a very real threat. I was in my 9th grade AP Biology class when they made the announcement over the school's PA system. By then I think both towers had been hit. When we finally went home, I watched all the news coverage I could. Like a lot of us did. But until a few days ago, I had no real connection to the tragedy. I had no face to connect to the names read every year. As I was working to add one of my Ancestry DNA matches to my tree, I discovered that this particular match had a sister who was working at 2 World Trade Center on the 89th floor that fateful day. Her name was Mary Lou Hague and she is my 6th cousin. When I watch the documentaries or hear the names being read aloud, I know that I don't just share a human bond but a familial one, however distant, with at least one of the souls taken from us that day.

Mary Lou Hague

Born: 7 Oct 1974 in Parkersburg, West VirginiaDied: 11 Sep 2001 in Manhattan, New York

Genealogical ConnectionMary Lou and I share 5th great-grandparents, Adam Deem and Catherine Foughty. Adam Deem was born 10 Jan 1757 in Hagerstown, Maryland to Johannes Adam Diehm and Anna Christine Laudenclos. He married Catherine Foughty, daughter of ​Philip Foughty. She was born c. 1761 in Lewis, West Virginia and died c. 1850 near Goose Creek in West Virginia.

]]>Tue, 06 Sep 2016 22:11:58 GMThttp://goldilocksandtheforebears.weebly.com/blog/in-her-own-words-grandmothers-wonderful-wisdom-17This is the final post in our series of JoAnn (Deem) Morse's answers to questions in Grandmother's Wonderful Wisdom.

This is a list of the wonders I see within you:

1. How fast and perfectly you complete projects.2. Your ability in digging into family history.3. Skill in producing church bulletins.4. Serving on district camp board at young age.5. Your quick thinking.6. Again, your creativity.*7. Your use of English—grammar, punctuation, etc.

* (Grandpa and I treasure so many things you have created and given us as gifts.)

Here are some of our family traditions that I hope you'll continue with your own family someday:

1. Attending church regularly.2. Making family birthdays special.3. Opening your home to friends and family (especially the lonely) with a big "WELCOME".4. Celebrating Christmas "Big Time" with family near and far.5. Attending events as a family such as "Festival of Life", ball games, etc.6. Family excursions to visit relatives.​7. Enjoying time at summer camp.

These are my hopes and dreams for you…

1. A vocation that uses your talents and skills to the best of your abilities.2. Happiness serving God and others.3. A life partner who loves God and you unconditionally.4. A happy family life.

Here are some good "secret" deeds you might like to try:

1. Leave a plant, bouquet of flowers, or basket of fruit on someone's doorstep.2. Mail a package containing a surprise with no return address, e.g. Shari's Berries.3. Plan a secret birthday bash for a friend.4. Send tickets to a special event anonymously.5. Drop off a box of food to a needy family and disappear before they come to the door.6. Send of gift of money to a college student via someone else.7. Clean someone's house while they are in the hospital and prepare some cooked meals for their freezer.

This is the funniest joke anyone ever pulled on me:

My friend Theda and I decided to play a joke on our good friends, Bob and Jean Williams. We carried their lawn furniture into the woods behind their house. How devastated I was when Ruth (Theda's sister) told us that a neighbor (Jean's sister) knew about the "theft" and called the police. I was frightened and nervous to think we were in real trouble. After some time passed and no police showed up, we learned that our joke had backfired. Ruth had made up her story to trick us!

Here are some things I still need to improve in my life:

1. Stop putting off small things that need to be done.2. Pray more.3. Keep in contact with friends and relatives who live far off.4. Pay more attention to those who need a friend.